Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Accountancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department has spent with the Big Four accountancy firms in the last twelve months.

Richard Harrington: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spent a combined total of £3.5m on services from the accountancy firms Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Pricewaterhouse Coopers in the last twelve months, from July 2017 to June 2018.

Carbon Dioxide: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with officials of the devolved administration in Northern Ireland on the (a) shortage of carbon dioxide supplies and (b) effects of that shortage on the agri-food industry in that country.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the importance of the industrial gases sector, including the CO2-providing subsector. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has continued to monitor the shortage and Ministers and officials have been in regular contact with producers and suppliers throughout the process. We have been assured by producers of CO2 that production and supply levels are now returning to normal. Officials in the Department talked regularly to counterparts in departments whose sectors were affected by the recent carbon dioxide shortage, and cross-Whitehall discussions on the shortage were open to any affected department or agency and the Devolved Administrations. DEFRA officials were also in contact with the Devolved Administrations to update them on developments. In particular, DEFRA regularly convened the Food Chain Emergency Liaison Group (FCELG), which all the Devolved Administrations are members of, to gather intelligence about the impacts of the carbon dioxide shortage across the UK food supply chain.

Accountancy

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received from the Big Four accountancy firms on their potential break-up.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has regular meetings with representatives from major professional services firms in the UK industry, including accounting firms.

Trade Agreements

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether standards equal to or higher than those in the EU directive banning animal-tested cosmetics will remain in place as part of any preferential trade agreement that the UK agrees.

Kelly Tolhurst: Testing finished cosmetic products and cosmetic ingredients on animals is prohibited under EU Cosmetics Products Regulation. In the White Paper published on 12th July, the Government set out its ambition for a future economic partnership with the EU, which includes a proposal for a UK-EU free trade area underpinned by a common rulebook for goods. This would cover those rules necessary to provide for frictionless trade at the border and would be supported by arrangements covering all relevant compliance activity necessary for products to be sold in the UK and EU markets, while allowing the UK to negotiate new international trade agreements consistent with the proposals in the White Paper.

Retail Trade: Employment

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the of the effect the implementation of self-service checkouts by retailers on levels of employment.

Kelly Tolhurst: Government monitors employment in the retail sector through statistics provided annually by the Office for National Statistics, which show that over the last 10 years retail employment has remained broadly consistent at between 3.2 and 3.3 million. We are working to make skills training available for those whose jobs may be affected by new technologies. Both our Industrial Strategy and the AI Sector Deal set out how we are helping people develop the skills needed for the jobs of the future, including retraining and researching the impact of automation across sectors.

Toys and Games: Boron

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that boron is not included in play slime.

Kelly Tolhurst: The UK has strict legal safety requirements for toys. Under the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 manufacturers or distributers must ensure that any toys placed on the UK market are safe. This includes not exceeding maximum migration limits for boron in liquid or sticky toy materials.

Glitter

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban glitter.

Kelly Tolhurst: Under product safety legislation, manufacturers and distributors have a responsibility to only place safe products on the market. Legislation banning the manufacture and sale of rinse-off personal care products containing microbeads has been introduced in England under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Under this legislation, the manufacture and sale of rinse-off personal care products containing glitter which falls within the definition of a plastic microbead is banned.

Cabinet Office

Windrush Generation

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the report by Sir Alex Allan on the Windrush report and the advice given to the Rt Hon Member for Hastings and Rye.

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to publish the Windrush report commissioned by Sir Alex Allan in an unredacted form.

Chloe Smith: The Home Affairs Select Committee has made a request for the report by Sir Alex Allan to be published. The request is under active consideration.



UKSA response 
(Word Document, 57 KB)

Job Security: North East

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in the North East who are in insecure jobs.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 145.4 KB)

Department of Health and Social Care

Royal Liverpool Hospital: Construction

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times (a) Government Ministers and (b) Government representatives have met representatives of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust to discuss the new Royal Liverpool Hospital construction since 15th January 2018; and if he will list those meetings.

Stephen Barclay: I visited the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust to discuss construction of the new Royal Liverpool Hospital on 18 May 2018; and held a phone call with the Trust’s Chief Executive on 5 February 2018 on the same subject. The Department does not hold a central record of visits and meetings by Ministers and officials from other Government Departments. Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care are working closely on this matter with those from Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and continue to have weekly discussions with relevant senior staff of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen NHS Trust and with private sector partners as necessary to ensure that the hospital can be completed as quickly as is possible.

Ministry of Justice

Doncaster Young Offender Institution: Training

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of training for prisoners in HMYOI Doncaster.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of training for prisoners in HMYOI Werrington.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of training for prisoners in HMYOI Wetherby.

Edward Argar: My answers to your Questions 161211, 161212 and 161213 provided Ofsted’s latest inspection judgements for each establishment named. Ofsted’s assessments cover the whole of an establishment’s learning and skills and work provision, which includes both education and training. At HMYOI Werrington, Ofsted assessed that the overall effectiveness of learning, skills, and work was good. Both HMYOI Wetherby and HMP/YOI Doncaster were assessed as requiring improvement. We continue to closely monitor provider performance. Good education in and out of the classroom is the key to unlocking a secure and stable future for young people.

Prison Officers

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in staffing levels in prisons over the last five years.

Edward Argar: Information on prison staffing levels can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/her-majestys-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-march-2018. At the end of March 2018, 21,041 FTE prison officers were in post; representing increases of 2,638 (14.3%) compared to 31 March 2017 and 1,116 (5.6%) since 31 December 2017. This is the highest number of officers in post since 31 May 2013. Over the previous year, 5,244 Band 3 officers were appointed; representing an increase of 125.8% compared to the 12 months to 31 March 2017. Our recruitment drive continues and will continue until we reach required levels across the prison estate, which is vital to ensuring prisons are safe, secure and decent.

Youth Justice Board

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many registered social workers with a background in (a) child protection and (b) children’s residential care are employed in the Youth Justice Board.

Edward Argar: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) does not hold any posts that require its employees to have registered social work status, and so this information is not recorded. However, the YJB is committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children impacted by its work, the staff who work for the organisation, and members of the public. For employees, this is evidenced by a recruitment and a selection policy that demonstrates safer recruitment procedures; a child protection policy that guides and supports staff to act in the best interests of children; a code of conduct for staff; a whistle blowing policy; and clear governance that provides accountability on how the organisation addresses issues of safeguarding throughout its work. In addition, the YJB’s Board contains two qualified social workers and a wealth of experience across teaching, medicine, police, probation, local government and youth work.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July 2018 to Question 159025 on Child Support and Social Security Benefits, how many First-tier tribunal cases relating social security claims were for (a) personal independence payment and (b) employment support allowance in the Inverclyde constituency in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested is provided in the table below. FYTD2Greenock1Personal Independence Payment (PIP) 3.Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).4Total Cleared5Number cleared at hearingNumber cleared without a hearingTotal ClearedNumber cleared at hearingNumber cleared without a hearing2013-2014~~ ~118610751112014-2015614912239198412015-201624721334359333262016-201734028951242226162017-201865604768443040129  Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) data are normally registered to the venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. We cannot retrieve data based on the appellant’s actual address, but can produce reports detailing the numbers of cases that were dealt with at one of our Regional centres or heard at a specific venue. Inverclyde appeals are attributed to the Greenock venue, except Child Support (attributed to Glasgow).  By Financial Year - from April to March.   PIP replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to 64 from 8 April 2013. As such, volumes received by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) in 2013-2014 are low. Data include PIP Reassessment.  Includes ESA and ESA (Reassessments)   The total number of Appeals disposed of, inclusive of both those cleared at hearing and those cleared without the need of a tribunal hearing.   Data April 17 to March 18 are provisional data and subject to change.  ~ HMCTS has chosen not to provide an exact figure in cases where the true number falls between one and five. However, it should not be assumed that the actual figure represented falls at any particular point within this scale; 'five or fewer' is used as a replacement value from which it would be difficult to isolate or extract any individual data. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available. The data are a subset of official statistics extracted from the case management system on a different date.  Latest figures indicate that since PIP was introduced, more than 3.1 million decisions have been made, and of these under 9% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned. For ESA, 8% of decisions made were appealed and 4% have been overturned at tribunals.

Shoplifting: North West

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions there have been for thefts relating to self-service checkouts in the (a) Lancashire Constabulary, (b) Greater Manchester Police and (c) Merseyside Police areas in the latest period for which figures are available.

Lucy Frazer: It is not possible to identify from centrally held data the number of defendants prosecuted for theft relating to self-service checkouts as these particular offences cannot be disaggregated from the broader offence of ‘theft from shops’. The information requested could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the agreed service waiting time for HM Courts and Tribunals Service cases are in England; and what proportion of cases met that target in (a) England and (c) Gloucestershire in 2017.

Lucy Frazer: Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) measures performance across all jurisdictions against its operational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Pages 34-40 of the agency’s Annual Report and Accounts 2017-18, at the link below, sets out those KPIs.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/723069/HMCTS_Annual_Report___Accounts_2017-2018_Final_print_version_.pdf Page 40 of the Annual Report also provides discrete links to published, official statistics for the criminal, civil and family courts in England and Wales, and tribunals in England, Wales and retained tribunals in Scotland. In some jurisdictions sub-national data are published. Further detail and the links are provided below. Criminal Court Statistics (annual): January to March 2018https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-annual-january-to-march-2018 Within the main tables figures are published for ‘Summary statistics on hearing times, waiting times, plea rates and juror utilisation in the Crown Court, by region’ (Table AC9). Timeliness data for Crown and magistrates’ courts (broken down nationally, regionally, and locally) also appear in the ‘Criminal courts timeliness’ document – the sixth document on the GOV.UK link. These data include Gloucestershire. Civil Justice statistics quarterly: January to March 2018https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2018 Table 1.5 of the second document provides the average time to reach trial/hearing in England and Wales. These figures are not broken down by region although data for Gloucester and Cheltenham County Court are available within the timeliness csv file available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714290/civil-justice-judical-review-data-jan-mar-2018.zip Family Court Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2018https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2018 In the second document in the link, the following information is published:-Table 8: Summary statistics on the timeliness of care proceedings in the Family Court of England and Wales;Table 9: Summary statistics on the timeliness of Private law cases from start to final order in the Family Court of England and Wales; andTable 10: the number of disposals and average time to first definitive disposal in courts in England and Wales by legal representation of parties and case type. Underlying data for tables 8 and 10 broken down by region are available within the published csv files:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720099/Family_Data_2018_Q1.zip Tribunals and gender recognitions certificates statistics quarterly: January to March 2018https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognitions-certificates-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2018 Figures for timeliness in the three largest tribunals appear in the third document in the link:- Table T1: Cumulative percentage of clearances that took place in 2016/17 and 2017/18, by age of case at clearance;Table T2: Percentage of clearances that took place in January to March 2018, by age of case at clearanceTable T3: Percentage of clearances that took place in January to March 2018, by age of case at clearance (with further breakdowns within each jurisdiction within each Tribunal). The CSV files within the seventh document include the timeliness figures for Social Security & Child Support cases for the period January-March 2018, broken down by venue and benefit type. These data include Gloucester.

Ministry of Defence

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timeframe is for his Department to publish the detailed data on the cost of (a) supporting and (b) operating UK F-35 aircraft.

Stuart Andrew: A summary of F-35 Lightning costs will appear in the annual Defence Equipment Plan 2018, which is due to be published in September 2018. Once the UK fleet is fully established in the UK, operating costs will be incorporated into centralised budgets and set out in the Ministry of Defence's Annual Report and Accounts.

Trident Submarines

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the cost to the public purse of the four Dreadnought class nuclear ballistic missile submarines does not exceed the £31 billion budget.

Stuart Andrew: We have delivered our 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR15) commitment to establish the Defence Nuclear Organisation, the Submarine Delivery Agency and the Dreadnought Alliance to strengthen our organisational, industrial and commercial arrangements for the Dreadnought submarine programme.The Programme remains on track to deliver on schedule and within the estimated cost of £31 billion stated in the SDSR15, which also set a contingency of £10 billion.As the Prime Minister announced in Parliament on 28 March 2018 (Official Report, column 756), the Ministry of Defence has been given access to £800 million in Financial Year 2018-19, which will contribute to the Dreadnought programme. This will enable us take opportunities to drive out cost and risk later in the programme and ensures best value for the taxpayer.



Dreadnought submarine programme
(Word Document, 26.66 KB)

Armed Forces

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies in the event that the target of 144,200 trained regular armed forces personnel by 2020 is not met.

Gavin Williamson: The Armed Forces continue to meet all their operational targets. We continue to apply a range of measures to improve recruitment and retention.

Department for Work and Pensions

*No heading*

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of (a) employment support allowance and (b) personal independence payment have been sanctioned for abusive behaviour during a work capability assessment in each year since 2010.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what definition his Department uses for abusive behaviour in relation to a sanction of a claimant for (a) employment support allowance and (b) personal independence payment.

Alok Sharma: The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Assessment is used to assess claimants and determine entitlement. There are no sanctions in PIP. For Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) purposes, the Work Capability Assessment is used to assess whether the claimant has Limited Capability for Work. As this is not a conditionality requirement, sanctions do not apply. ESA claimants can not be sanctioned for abusive behaviour.

Employment and Support Allowance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 2.15 of the National Audit Office report, Investigation into Errors in Employment and Support Allowance, HC 837, published on 19 March 2018, if she will extend the scope of the exercise to review the benefit entitlements of people who were mistakenly awarded contribution-based employment and support allowance instead of income-based employment and support allowance to include lost entitlement to free school meals and NHS prescription charges.

Sarah Newton: Eligibility for passported benefits such as free NHS prescriptions and school meals is determined by the relevant Department. People can also qualify for help in other ways, for example by applying for the NHS Low Income Scheme, which covers prescription, dental and eye care costs, wigs, fabric supports and assistance with healthcare-related travel costs. The Low Income Scheme assessment takes into account council tax and housing costs, so people could get help with health costs even if their income is too high to qualify for a means-tested benefit. At no point have we actually stopped individuals from making a claim to income-related benefits. When we transitioned people from Incapacity Benefit to Employment and Support Allowance, we protected the amount of Incapacity Benefit they were being paid. We sent out letters and attempted to call people at the time to advise them that they could also be entitled to income-related benefit and to contact the Department if they believed they were eligible.

Home Office

Home Office: Devolution

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the dates were of the most recent meetings between Ministers of her Department and their counterparts in the devolved administrations; and what the dates are of the next planned meetings.

Victoria Atkins: The former Home Secretary the Rt. Hon Amber Rudd last meeting with a Scottish Minister was in Glasgow on 27 July 2017. The Home Secretary has yet to meet with with Scottish Ministers but looks forward to doing so in due course and in line with departmental business.

Immigration: Caribbean

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,how many staff will be working in the newly established Windrush Generation task force; from which parts of (a) her Department and (b) other Government Departments they have been seconded; and what the timetable is for the task force to complete its work.

Caroline Nokes: The team was initially set up with 20 staff members. The number of staff deployed to the team will be driven by the number of people that contact the Department for help. Additional experienced staff can be deployed from within the Department should the need arise.

Immigrants: Caribbean

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will introduce legislative proposals to ensure the right of the Windrush generation to remain in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: On Thursday 24th May I laid a statutory instrument which came into force on May and will ensure that members of the Windrush generation, their children born in the UK and who arrived in UK as minors, and others who have been in the United Kingdom for a long period of time, will be able to obtain the documents to confirm their status and, in appropriate cases, be able to obtain British citizenship free of charge.

Sexual Offences: Newcastle upon Tyne

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2018 to Question 131391, what assessment  he has made of the effect of the recommendations of the Spicer Review on his Department's programme of work.

Victoria Atkins: We acknowledge the seriousness of the issues raised in this serious case review. The Government is not under an obligation to respond directly to national recommendations of serious case reviews. However, recommendations are considered carefully in the course of developing policy in this area.At an adjournment debate on 12 June I committed to writing to the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central with our response to the national recommendations in the review and I shall do so in due course.

Immigration: Commonwealth

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-Carribean-born Commonwealth citizens currently have cases with the Commonwealth Taskforce.

Caroline Nokes: The vast majority of applications considered by the Taskforce are concluded within one day and the number of current cases with the Taskforce is subject to change on a daily basis.It would not be cost or resource effective for the Department to provide a running commentary on cases currently with the Taskforce.

Acids: Sales

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making it an offence to sell a corrosive product to a person who is under the age of 21.

Victoria Atkins: The Offensive Weapons Bill includes provisions to prevent the sale of the most damaging corrosives to under 18s, rather than to persons under 21. This is because the age of 18 is common for other age restricted products such as alcohol and the sale of knives. It is also based on recognition that 18 is accepted internationally as the age of a child.Placing a statutory age restriction at 21 would set a precedent for other age restricted products and would raise discrimination issues. Corrosive products are not in themselves offensive weapons and they have many legitimate uses in the home and business and there is no evidence that adults should be denied access to these products. Retailers may, however, wish to introduce their own schemes to ask for age verification of those who look under 21 just as they do for alcohol sales.

Hydrofluoric Acid

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the level of harm which can be caused by hydrofluoric acid having zero per cent concentration.

Victoria Atkins: Advice we have received is that hydrofluoric acid is so corrosive that even trace concentrations could cause harm. We think there are no circumstances in which hydrofluoric acid should be sold to a person under 18.

Immigration: Compensation

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether family members of people affected by the Government's hostile environment immigration policy will be included in the Windrush compensation scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The compensation scheme for those of the Windrush generation that might have been affected is in the process of being established. The call for evidence for that scheme ended on 8 June and the Home Office are now preparing to launch the next stage of consultation, working with affected communities.The scheme will be set up as soon as possible after we have consulted on the design and scope of what should be included.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what amount of compensation members of the Windrush generation are planned to be given for legal fees; and whether that compensation will be at a fixed rate.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps have been taken to ensure that lessons learnt from the roll-out of previous Government compensation schemes will be taken into account in the roll-out of the Windrush compensation scheme.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money his Department has provisionally allocated for the Windrush compensation scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The Government has committed to establishing a Windrush compensation scheme. We are listening to those affected, including through a recent Call for Evidence, which ended on 8 June. We are using that evidence to inform the scope and design of the scheme, including the kinds of loss for which compensation may be paid, and will launch a public consultation on those details shortly.The Government has emphasised the importance of putting in place a scheme that works, quickly and carefully. As part of that process the Home Office is mindful of relevant guidance from HM Treasury and from the National Audit Office, which draws on the lessons learned from other compensation arrangements.This process will also help us to understand the scope of the scheme and scale of funding required. The Home Office is in discussion with HM Treasury about all budgets, including any provision that is required for the Windrush compensation scheme.

Department for Exiting the European Union

UK Relations with EU

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 5 of the White Paper, The future relationship between the UK and the EU,  Cm 9593, what the proportionate implications will be for the operation of the future relationship.

Suella Braverman: In areas where the UK had committed to maintain a common rulebook with the EU, the Joint Committee would need to agree on whether a proposed EU rule change should be incorporated into the agreements, and there would be a process for the UK Parliament to be consulted on this. If the UK and the EU could not agree, the Joint Committee should consider all other possibilities and endeavour to maintain the functioning of the relevant agreement, including the possibility to recognise the equivalence of legislation. If this was not possible after a defined period and an imbalance was created, proportionate and where possible localised rebalancing measures could be proposed, for instance, requesting financial compensation. Where there was no agreement over these measures, or they were not possible, the relevant part of the future relationship could be suspended In areas where there is a common rulebook, there could be proportionate implications for the operation of the future relationship from the decisions taken by Parliament about what legislation it chooses to adopt in the future. For instance, if the UK and the EU had agreed to add a rule change to the agreements, and if the UK Parliament decided not to give effect to this change in domestic law, it would be in the knowledge that it would breach the UK's international obligations, and that the EU could raise a dispute and ultimately impose non-compliance measures on the UK. As set out in the White Paper, the type of measures that could be imposed for different sorts of breaches would be technical, but could include financial penalties or suspension of specific obligations.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Former Members

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many former hon. Members hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within his Department as of 17 July 2018.

Suella Braverman: The Department does not routinely hold information on career histories of Civil Servants centrally as this would be held by individual recruiting managers or the Government Recruitment Service who run recruitment competitions. Selection for appointment to the Civil Service, as a permanent Civil Servant, is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles available at: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/RPApril2015.pdf. Information on the recruitment of special advisers is set out in the special advisers’ code available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579768/code-of-conduct-special-advisers-dec-2016.pdf. Special Advisers are bound by the standards of integrity and honesty as set out in the Civil Service Code but are exempt from the general requirement that Civil Servants should be appointed through an open competition. 



Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles
(PDF Document, 1.25 MB)




special advisers’ code
(PDF Document, 763.93 KB)

Brexit: Negotiations

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of allegations made against the campaigns (a) Vote Leave and (b) BeLeave by the (i) Electoral Commission and (ii) Observer on negotiations with the EU on the UK leaving the EU.

Suella Braverman: The Electoral Commission have determined that electoral rules have been broken and Vote Leave and BeLeave have been fined and referred to the police. It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on ongoing police investigations. The Government published a White Paper on the Future Relationship and talks with the EU are now accelerating and intensifying. We remain confident of reaching agreement on the Withdrawal Agreement and Future Framework by October. We are not going to provide a running commentary on these negotiations.

Transport: EU Law

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009, what (a) discussions his Department has had with the EU and (b) his policy is on the occupational status of UK transport managers residing in the UK and working for a road transport operator based in the EU 27 after the UK leaves the EU.

Suella Braverman: Article 4 of Regulation (EC) 1071/2009 requires a transport manager employed by an EU transport operator to be resident in the Community. The eligibility of UK-resident transport managers to work for an operator in an EU member state when the UK is no longer a member of the EU will be a matter for negotiation. On 7 June, following discussions with the EU, the UK published ‘Framework for the UK-EU Partnership - Transport’, setting out UK proposals for the future UK-EU relationship. The recently published White Paper on the Future Relationship Between the UK and the EU made clear that the UK wants to explore options for a reciprocal access deal for road hauliers and passenger transport operators. There is a strong mutual interest in reaching an ambitious agreement, which maximises benefits for all our citizens and businesses.

Treasury

Money Laundering: Estate Agents

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to update the guidance on the 2017 money laundering regulations for estate agents.

John Glen: HMRC, as the anti-money laundering supervisor for estate agents, drafts the guidance on how to apply the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. The estate agency guidance was updated after the 2017 regulations came into force and is available in draft. Both HM Treasury and HMRC are working closely with industry representatives to ensure that the guidance is finalised as soon as possible and that it is effective and fit for purpose.

Pay

Faisal Rashid: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the reduction in wage growth between March and May 2018.

John Glen: According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the level of total average weekly earnings has been growing steadily since January 2017, between March and May 2018 it increased from £515 to £517. Total real pay growth was 0.1% in the three months to May. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expect average earnings to grow faster than inflation in every year of the forecast. The employment rate is currently at a record high and the Government is taking action to support wages. Supported by the introduction of the National Living Wage, the lowest paid have seen their wages grow by 7% above inflation between April 2015 and April 2017. Boosting productivity is the only way to achieve sustained wage growth and higher living standards. That’s why in the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that the National Productivity Investment Fund, introduced in 2016 to invest in housing, R&D and infrastructure, would be extended and increased from £23bn to £31bn.

Infrastructure: Public Private Partnerships

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what infrastructure projects were built in (a) 2017 and (b) 2008 using Private Finance 2; and how much funding there was for each such project.

Robert Jenrick: In 2017 the North West, Yorkshire and Midlands batches of the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) and the Midland Metropolitan Hospital were in construction and using Private Finance 2 (PF2). In 2018 the Yorkshire batch of the PSBP and the Midland Metropolitan Hospital were in construction using PF2. No specific funding was made available by HM Treasury for these projects. They were funded from general departmental resources. Full details of all PFI and PF2 projects can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-and-private-finance-2-projects-2017-summary-data